• Read this stickie before posting.

    • In order to reduce the number of new members requesting a Beta reader before they're really ready for one, we've instituted a 50 post requirement before you can start a thread seeking a Beta reader.
    • You can still volunteer to Beta for someone else; just please don't request someone to Beta for you until you're more familiar with the community and our members.

Betas and Authors: Share Your Good Experiences

Clovitide

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 29, 2017
Messages
554
Reaction score
385
Location
Dark Side of the Moon
My friend and I usually swap stories. I found him through another writing forum a couple years back, when I was still a child, 17 and thinking I'm going to break out and become something with my first written novel. He read the first one, and the second one and asked for a third one. He gave me so much motivation because I had also asked others to read through it and most of them could not get through the first couple of chapters. one stopped responding to my emails all together. Pretty disheartening, actually, for young 17 year old me, but he kept me going with our constant correspondence. We still chat to this day, trading critiques and novels. He's been such a great help.

That story was a failure, though. Then I got another story beta read that was not any better, and now I have two pretty sweet stories I don;t want to give out because of those bad apples from before. My one friend still wants to read them, but I've been holding off for some time.
 

BonafideDreamer

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 8, 2017
Messages
72
Reaction score
3
I received a very blunt line by line critique/ general summary of feedback from a beta on another site. I have to admit that was one of my favorite critiques so far. Her bluntness was constructive and really helped and motivated me to trim a lot of pointless bloat from my manuscript.
 

Crowned in Fireflies

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 18, 2018
Messages
202
Reaction score
36
Location
the black pyramid at the end of time
I'm working on my second novel manuscript, and it's the first time I've really sought beta readers before. I'm new to the process, but most of my experiences so far have been positive. Most of them.

1) The first reader is someone I found on here, and while she only reads one chapter per week, she gives useful feedback that has made me more cognizant of issues with my writing that I should watch out for to grow as a writer. The last bit of feedback I got from her was over 2 weeks ago, and it was adding to some feelings of anxiety I was experiencing at the time from various sources, but she sent an email somewhat recently explaining that she's very busy with work, so I don't mind waiting at all because she informed me.

2) The second is also someone I found on here, but I don't know if I should even count her. We exchanged emails, she seemed cool, I sent my manuscript (March 20th), and I requested that she sends some preliminary feedback when she finishes the first few chapters. She disappeared for a long time, but turns out it's due to an emergency she had to deal with, which is understandable. She did say the emergency has since passed (March 29th), but I haven't heard from her since nor received any feedback at all. I'm not mad or anything, and I would actually be alright if she told me that she can't read my manuscript because she probably has way more important things to handle (I tried to offer her a clean, friendly out if she wanted), but the complete lack of response from her actually worries me. I hope she's alright.

3) The third beta reader is a friend I've made through online gaming years ago, and we've since grown close. She got really into the story and finished the last chapter last night, and we talked about it for a long while on PS4 party chat so she could share her thoughts/feelings/suggestions. Her feedback is useful, and I trust her because she would not lie to me despite our friendship. Her getting so into the story, and in one instance reading 10 chapters in one night and calling me on the phone right after to talk about it, helped dispel this anxiety I have about my writing.

4) The Fourth is someone I'm currently doing a beta swap with. Her manuscript is not the kind of thing I'd normally read, but I am enjoying it, and she is giving me useful feedback on mine with regards to characters, and some little mistakes that have so far gone unnoticed. She reads a chapter per day, and she gives me paragraphs of useful feedback whenever I ask questions. Also, she just seems cool, and I enjoy a lot of things about the way she writes.

5) There might have been this Fifth person, someone from here, but didn't work out. So, they ask me to send the first few thousand words to judge if they're interested. A couple days passed, I was having a minor panic regarding a registration/graduation issues, some other life shit like immigration issues, and at the time, only one reader was sending me anything, making me nervous that I'm about to get ghosted (beta reader #2 came to mind). I sent this Fifth individual an email saying that they should just tell me if they don't intend on reading so I can stop holding my breath and move on. The person replies and says beta readers have lives, and that my "attitude" is a good way to lose beta readers, which is fair (though never specifically said he/she wasn't going to read it).
I felt embarrassed, I thought about apologizing, but I didn't because I'm certain it would come off like a bunch of excuses, and I backed off for a few days to give them time before emailing again. More days later, I asked as non-pressury as I can for a time-frame of when I might receive feedback on the first two chapters I sent, and they said that they're just not going to read it because of my "attitude." I guess that's fine, and I do recognize that I shouldn't have let how I was feeling in the moment effect my communications, but seems like they should have made that clear with the previous email that they weren't going to read it. Anyway, I send an email stating that they should have been clear in the previous email about the fact that they aren't going to read it, I apologize for how I came off (I really wasn't trying to be demanding, I just wanted to know if they really did intend on reading it), and I say goodbye. Honestly, it kind of pisses me off if I think about it too much. I recognize that even if misconstrued, my words caused this, but It's probably a good thing that this person isn't reading my work because I'd have to worry that anything I say might make them drop me.
Like arguing with a Nazi in a YouTube comment section and letting them getting the last word, this will probably something I'll probably think about way too much despite wanting to just let it go. I bet they have this view of me as this entitled bully, and think that they're some righteous hero teaching me a lesson.

That came out way more ranty than I expected.
 

Cindyt

Gettin wiggy wit it
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 14, 2016
Messages
4,826
Reaction score
1,954
Location
The Sticks
Website
growingupwolf.blogspot.com
My historical beta got me thinking about a better way to introduce my plot.

As a beta, I have read some really good novels. One was an awesome twist on a plot done and tried.
 

aryheron

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 11, 2018
Messages
93
Reaction score
4
Location
USA
I had a beta who was the sweetest person ever. She made sure to point out when she didn’t like something because of her personal preferences and not because I had messed up, made random comments when she enjoyed certain quotes, told me where she had laughed, what scenes had worried her... She was the best. I’m hoping I get to work with her again.
 

mccardey

Self-Ban
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 10, 2010
Messages
19,212
Reaction score
15,821
Location
Australia.
Oh, but I read a lovely First Three Chapters today. It's right up there with my faves - you clever boy :)
 

Drascus

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 14, 2020
Messages
148
Reaction score
19
Location
The Pacific Northwest
I have beta read for two lovely people here on AW. One of them swapped MSs with me and read for me.

They were a joy to work with. Very professional in the way they took criticism and comments. Having my work read by a fellow author got me a wealth of useful information about my MS.

All three of us are in various levels of re-write now, I'm excited for the changes they're making to their books and excited for my changes (total ground up rewrite) as well!

Overall that's been a fantastic resource for me here on AW, I would recommend it to anyone.
 

holmes

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 1, 2017
Messages
85
Reaction score
35
I found a beta reader on reddit who finished my novel in less than two days and provided some great feedback! I don't know how I stumbled upon such and amazing person, who also happens to own a bookshop, but I am so lucky I did! God bless beta readers!!!!
 

bleep

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 5, 2019
Messages
132
Reaction score
57
Location
U.S. (NorCal)
I tried to get a crit group started w Meetup, twice, but both times it failed, with people looking great "on paper" but then just not showing up, not having the bandwidth to really do it, etc.

But in the second group, which started with four, after two dropped out, I suggested to the last person that we beta-swap, and that worked out really well for both of us.

For me, it was good but really hard, because he basically told me that the experiment I was attempting (it was a memoir wrapped in a sci-fi/cyberpunk setting and staged in a fictional present) just wasn't working. This rang true to me, as it jibed with the informal feedback I'd gotten from friends and family. But he was extremely professional and helpful, leading me through elevator pitches and other scenarios. As a result I completely re-wrote the book as a (more or less) traditional memoir, and the project feels much more promising.

His book was a murder mystery set in ancient Rome, and I don't read many mysteries, or historical fiction, but I gave this a careful read and gave him what I felt was useful feedback. The book was in very good shape. He's an experienced, published writer and he has high standards. But I felt I was able to make some useful observations and responses, and I know it was helpful to him because he confirmed this with me, and also he asked if I'd like to be listed in his acknowledgements.